


Suika's teetotal day

by soramidare



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Drinking, Gen, Hangover, Journalism, Old Friends, Original Character Death(s), Sentimental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soramidare/pseuds/soramidare
Summary: Suika decides to stop drinking for a day because of her old memory.
Relationships: Hoshiguma Yuugi & Ibuki Suika
Kudos: 2





	Suika's teetotal day

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [萃香の休肝日](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/731319) by そらみだれ（soramidare）. 



1.

It was a sunny autumn day with cool sunshine.  
The precincts of the Hakurei Shrine were lent brightly color by fallen leaves. The visitor tramples it crisply and walks to the shrine maiden.  
“I came all the way, Reimu.”  
Taking a glance at the speaker, Reimu immediately returned to her work. She was right in the middle of cleaning the main shrine. She wondered if Suika had just come to kill her time. That was a daily occurrence.  
“No one has invited you. Are you planning to start drinking from noon again?”  
“It’s not like that.”  
“Then why did you come here?”  
“...It’s the opposite of what you said.”  
“The opposite? Are you going to stop drinking?”  
“Exactly.”

2.

The two had moved to the porch of the shrine.  
“Certainly I said I wouldn't drink. But it's not such a big story. I just have a little request for you.”  
“What?”  
“I want you to keep this only today.”  
Suika said so, and she raised Ibuki Gourd around her face.  
“Only today?”  
“Yes.”  
“What will happen to your plan after tomorrow?”  
“It’s said that ascetics are the worst drunkards. Of course, I will drink again.”  
“That word isn't right for the same person who just said to stop drinking.”  
Reimu is always a little bit acrimonious with Suika. That was a sign of Reimu’s trust in her. So she continued talking without feeling unpleasant.  
“And then? What do you say?”  
“Okay. I’ll keep it. There is no reason to decline.”  
“Thanks. And I have one additional request. Don’t let anyone know about this.”  
“Why? Rather, I think it’s better to be known because the willingness of oni to quit drinking seems delightful.”  
“If people get known, they must think that it’s a shame that I can’t stop drinking unless I leave the gourd to somebody else. If that happens, my dignity as oni must be impaired.”  
“Uh-huh. Anyway, your request is not a big deal for me.”  
Reimu didn't try to argue against her and decided to keep it secret as she wanted. Humans have their own standards of value. The same is true for youkai. Those who try to bend it forcibly are not suitable for being shrine maiden.  
At the same time, Reimu had a vague intuition that she would not be able to keep the secret. What’s interesting is that no matter what the intentions of the parties are, it is discovered for some reason through an unclear route.  
“Well then, take good care of my gourd.” Suika said.  
“Are you leaving already? Why don’t we have some tea?”  
Reimu tried to keep her as she was leaving.  
“Thanks but I think I’ll pass today.”  
Immediately after saying that, Suika stood up and headed for the shrine gate.  
Perhaps because she doesn’t have the Ibuki Gourd that is always hanged, or because she isn’t drunk and her gait isn’t swaying, her back looks lonely and unsatisfactory.  
“Oh, I forgot to say. You can use that gourd as you like until you return it.”  
Suika left the Hakurei Shrine, leaving this message to Reimu who saw her leave.

3.

“It’s very rare for her to let go of sake. Maybe a spear will come down today.”  
Shinmyoumaru, who was able to soak in the sake bath from daytime, was in a very good mood. Of course, the sake used is that of Ibuki Gourd.  
“It doesn’t matter if the spear falls. It’s better than the shrine being crashed by an earthquake caused by that idiot.”Reimu said.  
Reimu also used Ibuki Gourd’s sake. She was simply drinking it. Having settled her work seemed to remove her psychological barrier to drinking before the sun goes down.  
There was exactly the scene that Suika tried to avoid.

An intruder appeared there, taking advantage of the door of the porch that remained open.  
“Good afternoon, girls. It’s enviable that you are drinking at this hour.”  
Aya, who landed on the ground, gazed at the small feast. Shinmyoumaru hurriedly hides her body with a washcloth.  
“Don’t come without notice! I’m always telling you.”  
By the time Reimu uttered the word, Aya had already discovered ownerless Ibuki Gourd. And at the same time, she considered various possibilities that explain the current situation with the reporter’s wild imagination.  
“It seems that she is not here. I wonder if something has happened.”Aya said.  
“That’s not your business.”Reimu said.  
“Ayayaya. This is a little suspicious. I just stopped by to show you something interesting, but now I have the possibility of an unexpected harvest”  
Aya is sprinkling. After a while, Momiji appears behind her.  
“You shouldn’t flirt too much, It’s not cool. ” Momiji said.  
Reimu was a little panicked in front of them.  
Various questions come up and disappear in Reimu’s mind. Why did they come so suddenly? Why can’t they always come in from the main gate? Why did Aya take picture of shy Shinmyoumaru unconcernedly? And above all, wouldn’t the secret of Suika be discovered?  
Shinmyoumaru anxiously looked at Reimu.  
“How can we get through this situation? ...Anyway, it’s really embarrassing!”  
It’s written all over her face.  
However, it’s too late to worry about it. They couldn’t do anything. Aya had already found Ibuki Gourd, and Reimu and Shinmyoumaru were too drunk to use their wisdom. In the end, the details were known to Aya and Momiji.  
Two tengus watched Reimu confess and Shinmyoumaru dressed up. Aya shines her eyes, and Momiji has an annoying look on her face.  
“What is that!? Doesn’t it look very interesting!” Aya said.

4.

“I certainly objected. I don’t know what kind of revenge I’ll get later if I take a picture of her private life.”  
Hatate, who was suddenly called by Aya and received an unreasonable order, does not even try to hide her bad mood.  
“Don’t get so angry. With you and current Momiji, it’s no exaggeration to say that the privacy of Gensoukyou is in our hands. Let’s enjoy it more.” Aya said without being embarrassed.  
“Momiji, who studied lip leading for the quick trick of the year-end party, steal a glance at her by combining clairvoyance and lip-reading, and Hatate takes a picture to confirm the situation...” Shinmyoumaru said, and she doesn’t try to hide her fear of the idea of Aya.  
“I made her study lip-reading because I thought it would be interesting, but I might see something even more interesting with this. This is exactly what we call use a sprat to catch a mackerel.” Aya said.  
“Well, well. Tengu’s ideas are all good-for-nothing.” Reimu shrugs.  
Momiji glances at Reimu. And she shouts in her heart, Reimu shouldn’t confuse her with that villainous reporter.  
The improvisational plan was finally put into practice due to the rubbernecking of Aya.  
Momiji uses a clairvoyant to identify the highlights of Suika, and Hatate begins a thought-taking.  
Suika in a photograph was standing alone on the riverside in the mountains. The rock surface is exposed, and a waterfall can be seen in the immediate vicinity.  
“Oh, she started talking. She seems to be a soliloquy.” Momiji said.  
Momiji began to duplicate the words that Suika spit out.

“Foam floats upon the pools, scattering, re-forming, never lingering long... What was that old man’s name? ......Whatever.  
It continues sunny every day, as much depressing. That’s why I remembered you.  
It’s strange. I haven’t really remembered you since I came here.  
The promised days were all nights when the stars could be seen like this.  
It’s not an excuse, but you should listen. I haven’t broken the promise between us. Unlike humans, we never break promises. No matter how long it takes, I will fulfill my promise, as long as it is possible.  
However, I lived too long and you were too short-lived...... Making the impossible possible is out of my ability.”  
Suika’s words seemed to be directed at someone who wasn’t there.

Meanwhile, one change occurred there.  
“It seems that Yuugi-san has come. ” Momiji said.  
“Can you read two lips?” Aya asked Momiji.  
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do it.”Momoji replies. She didn’t seem to be entirely unwilling to put what she had learned into practice.

“You have a nostalgic atmosphere.  
In your atmosphere at that time, friendliness and savagery lived together.  
You have become far more mellow as you have spent a long time here.”  
“That’s not old enough to say nostalgic.”  
“That is. I’m old, and you too. And all of those who ware too old went away beyond oblivion.”  
“............”  
“Are you remembering her doggedly again?”  
“Nothing.”  
“You can’t lie. There are only a few reasons why you are bare-faced. Don’t try to cheat me.”  
“......I can’t help but remember. The autumn sky makes me do that.”  
“I like that honesty. I’m not particularly talking to you from the desire to tease you. Like you, tonight I’m stuck with her in my head. That’s why I came here.”  
“Surely, this place is the most similar to that place in Gensokyo......”  
“You cried that day, did you?”  
“I was not crying.”  
“You said it was just because there was dust in your eyes, right?”  
“............”  
“I remember what happened after that. When I said “As the saying goes, tears in the eyes of the onis.” you got terribly angry.”  
“............”  
“Don’t be silent for that long. It’s out of your character. ...As I said, I’m not going to make fun of you. As many old existences do, I’m just missing the old days.”  
“Things were entirely different back then. It wasn’t as laid back as it is now.”  
“It wasn’t very interesting, either. That’s why you got into her. The thicker the darkness, the stronger the light.”  
“It’s unlike you to express poetry.”  
“Stop pulling my leg. Actually, wasn’t that true? Soon after you met her, you only speak of her every time you open your mouth. You were so wordy that I still could remember your story now.”  
“Was it so?”  
“Yeah......When you first met her, she was about to die, right?”  
“Right. I always met her on a clear autumn night like today.  
At first, she was just a daredevil who wanted to die.  
Her facial expression showed her firm belief that there was no value in her life.  
Despite that attitude, she was too strong to handle. The more I tried to kill her, the more she struggled alive.”  
“And finally, you and she ended in a draw.”  
“To say more precisely, the result is due to my compassion.  
I wasn’t kind enough to kill someone who wanted to die as she wanted.  
Then she ran back to her home, saying she would take revenge five years later.”  
She was too honest to hide from me five years later.  
Next five years later, she appeared again.  
She always delighted me, like a fine sake which changes its taste over time.  
I learned that we can feel a pleasant nympholepsy without alcohol.  
When we promised the next five years, I knew she had found her companion and had a child.  
Still, she promised me to come again......”  
“She must not have intended to break her promise. No human can tell when they will die of an epidemic.  
If she were alive, she’d definitely show up.”  
“I don’t want to get into speculation. She never showed up. This is an undeniable fact. Thanks to her, I came to take an additional promise that I would never be able to fulfill.”  
“Survive when they want to die, die when they have to live. Life doesn’t go how it should.”  
“She is still alive in our memory. But I think no one else remembers her anymore. That old man's words come to mind.”  
“Well, don’t think so hard. Even if the numbers of those who remember her decrease, as long as the remaining ones memorize more strongly, that's fine.”  
“For the sake of our strong memory, I have one request for you.”  
“Tell me.”  
“Let’ duel with me. It’s not a danmaku battle, it’s just another attempt to kill each other. Just like the old days, quietly and soberly.”  
“With pleasure. Autumn nights are too long to pass by without doing anything.”

According to Hatate’s thoughtgraphy, they fought hard and took a breather. And Yuugi seemed to leave the place a little earlier.  
The state of the battle could only be seen in the thought-taking photographs of the scenes, but it made them feel innocent like a child’s play rather than death threatening ghastliness.  
As for Suika, she looked over a large tree that was suitable for taking rest and seemed to lie down on the brunch and ponder.  
Her humble and mysterious atmosphere, which she does not show usually, made the witnesses feel the majesty of a great youkai.

“My work has paid off. I didn’t expect that there’s such a harvest.”  
Hatate gives a slightly blameful look at talkative Aya.  
“You may be. But I feel like I’ve seen something I shouldn’t see.” Hatate said.  
Reimu and Momiji nodded to her word.  
“Ayayaya, I’m not going to write this as an article. I have a minimum of professional ethics.  
I know there are certain things. They are very precious and should not be disseminated unnecessarily. What we witnessed tonight is no exception to them.  
So, I have a suggestion for you here.” Pointing to Ibuki Gourd placed in the corner of the room, Aya said.  
“Let’s make a toast for a memory that will be forgotten, and swallow sake so much that we even forgot what we forgot.”

5.

The next day, Suika visited Hakurei Shrine as scheduled.  
The sun has already risen high in the sky, but she couldn’t find Reimu outside.  
When she went up to the living room, she found Reimu lying in her sleepwear. There was a faint dark circle in her eyes, and her hair remained casual.  
“What’s happened?” Suika asked.  
“Ah, welcome...”  
Reimu pours water from a jug into a yunomi and drinks it up like a desert wanderer. She no sooner laid down again as if the battery had run out.  
“Seems that I swallowed too much. I feel sick...”  
Reimu lays on her back and holds the back of her hand over her eyes. She didn't want to be exposed to even the little light.  
“It seems that you took care of my gourd properly, so I have no complaints.”  
Beyond the line of sight of Suika, there was Ibuki Gourd that was the same as when she left it. Next to that, Shinmyoumaru is completely fainted by wearing a bowl.  
“Let me have a drink here. Sometimes it’s good to drink while watching a hangover girl.”  
“Whatever you like... Ah, what a terrible hangover......”  
“It’s unusual for you to be in that state. ” said Suika with a smile, as if she was relieved.  
“Actually, I don’t remember yesterday’s night very well, but somehow I couldn’t stop drinking...... And this is the result.”  
“You are still young. We have to drink beautifully and moderately. We should always make sure not to drink too much and lose our precious memories.”

**Author's Note:**

> Writing a novel in English (although it is a translation of my work...) and posting work here was my first experience.  
> I was tired, but it was a lot of fun.  
> Thank you very much for leading my immature work so far.


End file.
